Google has renamed its popular tool NotebookLM on Gemini Laptop. This is not a new product, but a new name for a tool for working with your own documents, which is now more closely connected to the Gemini ecosystem. At first glance, it is just a name change, but in fact it fits into a broader strategy to connect Google's individual AI services into a single ecosystem.
If NotebookLM you use, you don't have to worry. You won't lose your notes and the way you work remains the same. You'll just gradually see better integration with the Gemini app and AI mode in Google Search.
What is actually changing?
Gemini Laptop remains a standalone application focused on working with your own documents.
But now it is more interconnected with Google's other AI services. It is already possible to sync notes between Gemini and Gemini Notebook, and Google is gradually preparing the same connection for AI mode in Search. This will make it easier to follow up on work in progress. no matter where you're starting from.
Another novelty is expanding data analysis capabilities. Gemini Notebook can leverage a secure cloud environment to run code, which opens the way to more advanced analyses or graphing and other outputs directly from your documents. However, this feature is being introduced gradually depending on the subscription type.
Gemini or Gemini Notebook?
I come across this question very often in trainings. Both tools use the same AI, but each solves a slightly different problem.
Use Gemini when you need to:
- write an email or article
- create a presentation design
- translate text
- to program
- brainstorm ideas
- search for general information
It is a universal AI assistant for everyday work.
Use Gemini Notebook when working with your own materials:
- you need to summarize a long PDF
- you analyze company documentation
- you are comparing multiple documents
- you are preparing study materials
- you want answers backed up by specific sources
This is where its greatest strength lies: the answers are not based primarily on general knowledge of the model, but on the documents you upload to it.
What can you take away from this?
Renaming on the Gemini Notebook itself nothing fundamental changes. Much more important is the direction Google is taking.
Instead of several separate AI tools, a connected environment is created, where you can move between searching, chatting with AI, and working on your own documents without unnecessary switching.
If you haven't tried NotebookLM yet, now is the time working with your own documents is, in my opinion, one of the most practical ways to use AI today. Whether you are preparing training, analyzing contracts, studying or you need to quickly navigate dozens of pages of text.
Do you want to use AI in your company? practically and safely? Check out the training and workshop topics I help companies with.